Budgeting while clueless

Saving money in your twenties is often the last thing on your mind. But it should be one of your top priorities as it can lead to financial security in your later years. Here will be a quick and easy guide on how to save and how to budget your money.

If you don’t want to read through tbe entire article I understand, we all live busy lives. I included an 11 step summary at the end. Although I would appreciate it if you read the whole thing through!

Budget

It’s important that you know each expense you will have coming out of your bank account monthly, semi annuallly, or annually. If your anything like me then your into subscriptions and those can really add up if you don’t pay attention. If your bank offers mobile banking, it’s essential that you get their mobile banking app on your phone for quick and convenient banking.

Whether you prefer writing things down or typing them on a computer, make a list of all the guaranteed expenses. Such as subscriptions, rent, car insurance, etc. For other expenses that can vary, like gas, water, electric, groceries, take the average of what you currently spend on the expense per month.

Once you have a pretty solid list of all your expenses per month, you’ll need to find out how much you make per month. If you are not a salaried employee, just take the average of all paychecks you receive per month.

Hopefully your income will will be more than your expenses. Otherwise if you can try to cut back on some expenses that are not too important, such as a gym membership you haven’t been at (😭), eating out at restaurants and bars, and unnecessary buys on Amazon when your drunk on a Saturday night. We’ve all been there.

Saving

Now that you have your income and budget list all sorted out, it’s time to factor in an amount that you can commit to putting away each paycheck or each month. If your job offers stock options, 401k’s and other savings options, take advantage of them! Some employers will match your entire contribution to your 401k or a percentage, which is basically free money! This will ensure you get a start at saving for retirement, although it seems like it’s years and years away.

If your employer doesn’t offer savings options, take it upon yourself and open up a savings account with your bank. Most savings account accrue interest based on the amount that is in your account! (Hello free money!! 💰) Based off your budget, commit to an amount you will put away in your savings account per paycheck or month. A good rule of thumb is to put away at least 10% of your paycheck. Again this should be an average based off of your paychecks.

If you are like me, you won’t remember to manually transfer your money to your savings account each month/paycheck. But that’s ok! Most banks and online banking allow automatic deposits through your account. You set and amount and how often it should a occur and which account are involved. This way you’ll never forget and you might just forget the pot of gold piling up in your savings account.

While you pile up the money if your savings account, it’s important to not let it burn a hole in your pocket. Set a goal for why you are saving money. Could it be a new computer, down payment on a house or new car, jewelry, whatever it is make it important to you, something that would really make you want to save.

Commit to yourself that you will not withdraw any money from your savings account unless absolutely needed, and if you do, be sure to pay it back in full.

11 Step Summary

Get online banking app on your mobile device

Make a list of all guaranteed expenses per month (subscriptions, rent, etc. )

Make a list of all averaged expenses per month (water, gas, etc. )

Find your average income per month

Make any expense reductions you can

Open saving account through your bank

Take advantage of all savings opportunities your employer offers

Commit to amount you will deposit in savings account per month/paycheck (10% of each paycheck is a great start)

Set automatic account transfer for savings commmitment

Finalize list of all expenses and income including your savings commitment

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